Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 36

For some reason, Reus couldn’t get Loelle’s face out of his head since breakfast this morning. He tried everything to erase the thought, but of course, he failed—just like always.

 

In the end, Reus stopped what he was doing and walked over to the office that Loelle used.

 

He came all the way here on his own, but he couldn’t understand his own actions.

 

He didn’t even have anything special to say, so why did he come here? It wasn’t just him—Loelle would probably feel the same.

 

On top of that, his fake bride always found him difficult, so she probably wouldn’t welcome his visit. But strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away.

 

Reus tried hard to come up with a reasonable excuse for his actions, but the real reason—one he hadn’t realized—was simpler than he thought.

 

It was because he didn’t see Loelle taking her usual walk in the garden below the office at the usual time today.

 

Once again, Reus had no idea what his feelings truly meant. For now, he put the reason aside and knocked on the office door.

 

Instead of hearing the voice he expected, the door opened right away, and the aide, Derwin, appeared.

 

“Your Grace…! What brings you here in person?”

 

Derwin was very surprised. He never imagined that his master had come to visit the Lady. Was something urgent happening for him to come himself?

 

While waiting nervously for Reus to speak, he heard an unexpected question.

 

“Where’s Loel?”

 

“Oh, the Lady just… excuse me?”

 

Loelle always looked like a startled squirrel when her eyes widened like that, and now Derwin was making the same face. Reus found that incredibly annoying.

 

Noticing how cold his master’s gaze had become, Derwin quickly spoke up.

 

“Th-The Lady returned to her room a little earlier today.”

 

“To her bedroom?”

 

Reus glanced into the office. Both Derwin’s and Loelle’s desks still had piles of paperwork.

 

“Yes. She said she wanted to return a bit early today…”

 

For some reason, Reus felt a strong urge to move all the documents from Roel’s desk to Derwin’s.

 

As he tried to suppress that unexplained feeling, Derwin hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

 

“Actually, Your Grace… the Lady had some indigestion this morning and took medicine while she worked…”

 

Sensing Reus’s atmosphere darken, Derwin paused for a second.

 

“Sh-She said the medicine helped and she felt better quickly…! But she was still tired, so she went back early. Just in case, I gave her some extra medicine. And…”

 

Under pressure, Derwin started spilling every detail about what happened with Loelle without even taking a breath. But before he finished, Reus turned and walked off.

 

He was heading toward the couple’s bedroom. Reus soon arrived at the bedroom.

 

He knew Loelle was inside, so he should have opened the door quietly so she wouldn’t be surprised. But he was too overwhelmed to care about something like that.

 

He pushed the door open rather roughly and stepped inside.

 

On the bed, the blanket was puffed up in a small shape. Just from the shape and size, he could tell that Loelle was quietly asleep.

 

The moment he realized that, Reus felt pathetic.

 

Come to think of it, Derwin had clearly said she was tired. So why had he come rushing here like this, completely forgetting that?

 

Because of the mess in his mind, he didn’t even notice how all the tension in his body had drained away once he saw that Loelle was there.

 

Reus slowly walked over to the bed. He didn’t plan to do anything—he just thought he’d feel better if he saw her face while he was here.

 

But when he pulled down the blanket, Loelle was quietly groaning without making a sound.

 

Her hair was stuck to her face with cold sweat, and her skin was terribly pale.

 

Without realizing it, Reus urgently reached out and cupped her cheek. Her face was burning hot, despite how pale she looked.

 

“Loelle.”

 

But there was no answer. Feeling worried, Reus gently shook her.

 

Roel, who had barely fallen asleep after suffering from stomach pain all morning, slowly opened her eyes.

 

She blinked for a while, then suddenly sat up when she saw that it was Reus.

 

“Reus…!”

 

Then, as if nothing had happened, she forced a normal expression.

 

Just by her face and tone, she didn’t seem sick at all. But that didn’t hide her sweat-soaked hair, pale skin, or colorless lips.

 

Even so, Loelle desperately tried to pretend she wasn’t sick. It didn’t seem like she was doing it on purpose—it looked more like instinct.

 

Reus noticed that too, and it bothered him even more.

 

“It’s still early. What brings you here…? Ah, I just wanted to rest a little today, so I came back early. I’m not neglecting my work—it’s just that I felt unusually tired today…”

 

Watching her give excuses for things he hadn’t even asked about, with a faint smile, only made him feel worse. Reus spoke in a quieter voice than usual.

 

“I heard you skipped lunch.”

 

Maybe it sounded like he was scolding her, because Loelle looked flustered.

 

“Did you come to the dining hall at lunch? I’m sorry. No one told me…”

 

Seeing her try to keep him happy with those pale lips made his heart sink even more.

 

Reus silently stared at her pale face.

 

That only made Loelle more nervous. She didn’t want to ruin her relationship with Reus, and now she was being scolded again.

 

She’d gone through worse things at Count Ivelle’s estate without ever losing her composure—so why did things keep going wrong now?

 

Was it the situation she resented, or herself?

 

She remembered what Peria once said.

 

“When someone who’s used to having nothing suddenly gets too much, they become a shameless fool who doesn’t know gratitude.”

 

What if Reus thought the same?

 

‘I should’ve been more careful…’

 

As the silence continued, Roel hurriedly apologized.

 

“I’m sorry. Next time—”

 

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. A large shadow was cast over her forehead.

 

As his big hand reached closer, Loelle instinctively flinched and closed her eyes.

 

She had shown her fear clearly, probably because she wasn’t feeling well. But Reus said nothing about it.

 

He simply placed his hand gently on her forehead. Loelle slowly opened her eyes. In the silence, their gazes locked.

 

Strangely, Reus’s eyes looked full of concern.

 

Loelle blinked and studied his face carefully. She still wasn’t sure if he was upset or not.

 

Reus noticed right away and softly asked,

 

“I heard you’ve had indigestion since this morning.”

 

As soon as he mentioned her being sick, Loelle flinched and quickly answered,

 

“Ah, n-no…”

 

It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but Reus didn’t say anything else or change his expression.

 

Instead, he gently moved his hand, brushing her sweat-drenched hair away from her forehead.

 

There was no scolding or anger in his touch. Loelle seemed to notice that too, looking up at him with a slightly dazed expression.

 

“You’re sweating like this, and you’re still saying you’re not sick.”

 

His hand and eyes on her face were clearly full of worry. It was such an unfamiliar reaction, she didn’t know how to respond.

 

Was she dreaming?

 

Just when that thought crossed her mind, the strong back of Reus’s hand touched her neck. The feeling of skin against her sweaty skin snapped her out of it.

 

“Loelle. I need to know where it hurts so I can help.”

 

“Well…”

 

She now understood that he hadn’t come here to scold or mock her. He was truly worried.

 

But still, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

 

‘How do I say it’s because of my period…?’

 

Normal couples would share that kind of thing, but she and Reus were only married by contract. They were practically strangers—wouldn’t it be too much to tell him something so personal?

 

‘It’s kind of embarrassing…’

 

Too embarrassed, she kept hesitating to speak. Reus’s brows slowly drew together.

 

Not in anger, but because his anxiety had reached its peak.

 

He felt like he needed to give her medicine right away, but didn’t know where she was hurting or why she wouldn’t tell him.

 

Wanting not to scare her, Reus made sure his tone, movements, and even his fingertips were gentle. But eventually, he couldn’t wait any longer and called her name a little more urgently.

 

“Loelle.”

 

“I-It’s… my period…!”

 

Loelle’s voice was barely above a whisper, and the tips of her ears turned bright red.

 

Reus was just as surprised—this was far from the answer he had expected.